Thanks. Any idea if it would be worth it to get full Vegas 6 for $149, rather than wait for 7.0 ? Would that give me a cheaper upgrade path when 7 comes out ?

No idea. Sony usually has great deals on upgrading. And I don't believe there is a list of features out on Vegas 7 yet.... just a lot of speculation at the other forum. I can tell you that Vegas 6 has pretty much everything you'd need to start a moderate sized business! It will usually do more than the user can. Going from Pinnacle to Vegas 6, would be like going from a go-cart to an Indy car.

Just my opinion.


ETA: Look at the difference in features between VMS Platinum and full Vegas 6. Like I said, the one thing that you mentioned you wanted was surround. Other than that, there really isn't a lot that a home user would miss. We have four video and four audio tracks; they have unlimited. But with Platinum, we get the color correction wheels and the un-docking windows and support for a preview monitor (some of my favorite "new" features). The basics are all there. That being said..... with a full version of Vegas at $150 vs. the $100-120 for VMS Platinum, you'd be crazy not to get the full version.

Another former Pinnacle user here. I'm a little surprised you stuck it out this long. I gave up several years ago and decided I could live with a little more challenging user interface to gain stability. Vegas MS is much more reliable. I do get the occasional crash in the capture application, but it seems like it's not when I'm actually capturing from tape (I have a Sony Digital8 camcorder - 6 years old and still going strong!). The software you got with the camcorder has little relationship to Vegas. Vegas was originally developed by Sonic Foundry, and Sony bought them a couple years ago.

I think you should pose the 5.1 question to Sony -- they've tended to support their own camcorders' features (like import from original DVD recorders).

Also, you should take advantage of the trial download of MS to play around with it. It's fully functional except for MPEG-2 rendering, I believe. (Admittedly this makes it hard to try it through to completion of a project, but I think others will vouch for reliability in this department.)

--Judd

Hello,

VMS user here who recently bought the $149 deal from B&H Photo/Video.. I'll try to address your answers in order...

1. I, too, would like to be able to divide my videos post-capture. As VMS and Vegas do not offer this function, I have used a freeware tool named Scenalyzer. You simply load in your avi, and it will chop it up into separate files based on the timecode. It can also perform optical scene recognition on files without the timecode (but for this you must pay).

You can quite safely open your VMS box. You won't regret it!

2. I'm not familiar with the DVD403. Although it does claim to have 5.1 surround audio, how on earth does it achieve it? Anyway, to maintain the 5.1 surround sound you would need the full version of Vegas AND the AC3 plugin which costs extra. If you purchase DVD Architect, then the AC3 plugin is included with that.

So, no solution there... But ask yourself, how good will the surround sound be from your camera. It could well be more of a distraction than a blessing. Those rear speakers will surely blast your movements into the back of the audience's heads.

3. I have not used Studio 10. But I know people who have, and NONE of them use it any longer. They have all gone back to version 9. These people are seasoned amateur film-makers (a little uneasy with digital, admittedly), but they can't afford for their competition entries to be destroyed halfway through an edit.

Personally, I have used Magix Movie Edit Pro and VMS (and now the full version of Vegas). Movie Edit Pro was good, but unpredictable. VMS is so much smoother, stable, and friendly. It has NEVER crashed on me, even when editing 2 hours of MPEG2. VMS is one of the most well-programmed applications I have used.

The interface in VMS takes a little getting used to - it's upside down compared with other editors - but after a week or two you'll be using it with no problem. Especially useful to me is the way track heights can be adjusted, so less important tracks can be made smaller.

4. I would say stick with 6. Nobody knows what may be in 7, yet. There is an upgrade scheme. When you register the product, the My Account section of the website will tell you what upgrades you are entitled too.

That said, the Vegas 6 offer from B&H is exceptional. I'm in the UK and their offer of $149 + postage corks out at less than £100. You only get the disk in a paper sleeve with the serial number - no box or manuals. Just the installation disk. but it's a bargain.

If you can use Studio for burning DVDs, then you may consider returning VMS and getting the offer from B&H instead. As for Acid, there is a free cut down version available from the Sony media website. It's called Acid Express, I think.

The reason I upgraded from VMS to the full version of Vegas is that I the full version enables me to do some effects that are much more difficult to achieve in VMS (colour pass, for instance...).

Hope this has helped.

Worley.

Thanks Worley. I went ahead and got the $149 Vegas deal. Rather than upgrade to the full version of DVD Architect, I just picked up a basic version of Movie Studio + DVD, which is all I need for my DVD authoring at this time. I can evaluate whether to make the upgrade switch to Vegas+DVD at that time.

As for DVD authoring, it was Studio 10's pathetic DVD authoring tools and the constantly screwed up menus that led me to Vegas in the first place. After wasting 3 DL disks (at $2 / per), I decided I was done. Done with the frequent crashes, done with the bizzare "work arounds", done with a company that is more worried about releasing a "new version" than actually getting a current version to work. After 2 weeks with Vegas, all I can do is BEG those who still use Studio to make the switch. You won't regret it for a second. You all might not know it, but it IS possible to have a powerful editing package that (a) can run on a less than brand new system and (b) does not crash.

The workflow is a little difficult to get a handle on, but after a week, it is becoming second nature to me. There isn't one thing I did in Pinnacle Studio that I can't do in Vegas, and with much better results. I am very, very impressed so far, and don't regret the purchase at all.

And as for DVD Architect, even though I had to spend $80 to add it on, it is well worth it. It's 50x more flexible than Studio's authoring routine, and the flexibility with creating menus is great.